Wall construction



March 13, 1928.

E. D. COVELL WALL CONSTRUCTION I W NESSES INVENTOR: Q Earl 1 0011611,

a X W ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

EARL COVELII, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYIJVAITIA.

4 WALL CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed April 22, 1927. Serial No. 185,708.

This invention relates to wall construction, more particularly to walls built from molded or pressed units or blocks.

In connection with the walls built of ordinary bricks or blocks, it has generally been the practice to apply the bonding agent, i. e. cement mortar, incidental to the laying of each building unit. This operation required great skill on the part of the operatives to insure proper spacing and bonding of the units,-especially in the construction of exposed or face walls, and was therefore very expensive from the standpoint of labor costs.

My invention is directed toward obviating the drawbacks above referred to, or in other words, I aim to enable building of walls with absolute assurance of, uniformity and evenness in the arrangement of its component units, in far less time than is usually required. under previous methods, and without necessitating employment of specially skilled artisans for the purpose. This desideratum I attain with novel building units in the form of blocks adapted to be laid dry, and, which, after laying, predetermine formation of a wall with a flush frontal face and an internal channel system of continuously communicating horizontal and vertical lnterspaces such that a bonding agent may be subsequently introduced under pres sure, e. g. with the aid of a suitable cement gun, from the rear of the wall to tie the component units permanently together.

With reference to the drawings, Fi I is a perspective view showing a portion 0 a wall constructed with building units of my invention. & i

Fig. II is a sectional view of the wall taken as indicated by the arrows IIII in Fig. I.

' Fig. III is a fragmentary view showing the rear of the wall; and

Figs. IV, V, VI, VII and VIII are perspective views showing diiferent types of building units or blocks capable of being variously employed in constructing walls in accordance with my invention.

The several different blocks herein illustrated are of such configuration that they may be fabricated by molding or die-pressing from clay. concrete, cement-cinder or composition mix. The building unit or block designated 10 in Fig. IV has a depression 11 in its horizontal top face defined by a ridge 12 which is coextensive with the ,wardly-projecting lug lateral face or side intended for exposure at the front of the wall, and upstanding proeotmns 13, 13 at the opposite corners. The r1dge'12 and the projections 13 are sloped inwardly as at 14 to prevent sticking of the blocks in the dies incidental to molding or pressing. The block 10 furthermore has end lugs 15, 15 which are continuous with,

and of the same height as the frontal face.

The purpose of these end lugs 15 will be from its upper face 19, the minimum and maximum vertical dimensions corresponding to the levels of the depressions 11, 11 and the ridges 12, 12 of the blocks 10, 16'.

In building a wall such as depicted in Fig. I, I employ in the outer thickness 20 blocks of the type 10, laying them end to end and in staggered relation as regards the several superposed horizontal rows. At the corners, however, use is made of the units 16 shown inFig. V, since these have one end face adapted for exposure at the front of the wall. The inner wall thickness 21 is constructed entirely from units or blocks of the kind 17 shown in Fig. VI, these being likewise laid in staggered relation with the ends of a pair of ad acent units in one horizontal row resting on the elevated area 18 of an intermediate unit in the subjacentrow. However, in arranging the blocks 17 as just explained, care is taken to space them one from another and from the outer thickness 20 with resultant formation, through the inner thickness, of transverse vertical interstices 22 as well as horizontal intervals 23. and between the two plies of the wall a continuous vertical interspace 24, see

Figs. I, II and III. Now it will be noted that by virtue of the facial depressions 11, 11, the blocks 10 and 16 in the outer wall thickness 20are spaced from one another, top and bottom over correspondin areas, by horizontal intervals 25 (Fig. Ill reaching into close proximity to the exposed wall face, and through the end lugs 15, 15 are sepa rated by vertical intervals 26 which likewise terminate short of the wall face, said intervals 2, 26 being communicative at the rear with the interspace 24. From the foregoing it will be seen that by proper choice and arrangement as between the units 10, 16 and 17, I am able to set up an angular wall structure with a flush outer face. and a system of internal channelling which is conveniently accessible from the rear so that a nozzle or gun may readily be applied subsequently to dry laying of a whole wall or sections thereof, at different points in introducing a suitable bonding agent such as cement mortar or the like under pressure. Upon complete filling of the intor-communicating interstices and setting of the cement, it will be apparent that the component block units are securely bonded together to form a solid wall, the bonding agent being protected from direct exposure at the wall outer face as a consequence of the close junctures between the facing blocks 10 and 16. If walls of greater thickness are desired, they may obviously be had simply by adding more inner plies constructed from blocks of the type 17.

The alternative form of block 30 shown in Fig. VII may be used in lieu of the type 10 of Fig. IV. It differs from the latter in that a spacing lug 15 isprovided at one end only.

Fig. VIII shows still another form of unit 31 which is like the block 16 of Fig. V except that it has two spacing lugs 15 which project rearward instead of lengthwise as in Fig. IV. The block 31 is designed for use at the corners in walls otherwise constructed with either the blocks 10 or 30 as facing units, the lugs 15 serving to determine the spacing from the units 17 of the inner thick ness 21 as can be readily visualized without 'necessitatitng a separate illustration. Still other variations, such for example as rights and lefts of certain of the block types illustrated are obviously possible within the scope of my invention according as specific or special requirements are to be satisfied in practice.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A wall constructed from units pre-determining a flush outer exposure face, each said unit embodying a ridge along certain of its vertical faces and projections at the remaining corners whereby continuously communicating horizontal and vertical intervals are formed that extend into close proximity to the wall face, said intervals emg open from the rear for accessibility in subsequently introducing a bonding agent under pressure.

2.18. double thickness wall constructed from units or blocks determining a flush outer exposure face, and internal channelling with vertical intervals between the two thicknesses and direct-comn'mnieating l1orizontal intervals between successive layers reaching into close proximity to the outer wall face, said channelling being accessible from the rear of the wall for introduction subsequently of a bonding agent. under pressure.

3. A multi-thiclniess wall constructed from units or blocks pro-determining internal channelling with vertical spaces between the wall thicknesses and direct communicating horizontal intervals between successive layers penetrating the inner thicknesses and reaching into close proximity to the outer wall face, said channelling being accessible from the rear of the wall for introduction subsequently of a bonding agent under pressure.

4. A multi-thickness wall comprising an outer thickness with a flush face constructed from superposed layers of staggeringly-laid blocks having facial depressions open at the sides and the rear to form continuously coinmunicating passages which terminate in close proximity to the wall face, and inner thicknesses constructed from correspondingly-laid blocks having central rises to form in conjunction with contiguous blocks a of superimposed rows, penetrating horizontal interstices on levels with those of the outer wall thickness whereby a bonding agent may be subsequently introduced andcr pressure from the back of the wall to fill the internal channelling.

5. As a new article of n'nnmfacture, a building unit or block with a depression in one of its horizontal faces defined in part by a ridge extending along certain of the adjacent vertical faces, and by upstanding projections at the remaining corners.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a building unit or block with a depression in one of its horizontal faces defined in part by a ridge extending along adjacent vertical sides adapted to be exposed at the face of the wall, and by an upstanding projection at the remaining corner.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a building unit or block with a depression in one of its horizontal faces defined in part by a ridge extending along certain of the vertical faces and by upstanding projections at the remaining corners, and spacing lugs extending outward from certain of said vertical faces.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 6th day of April, 1927.

EARL D. COVELL.

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